Comparison between the Explanations of "Mukhtasarat Ibn Duraid" by Ibn Duraid and Ibn Hisham al-Lakhmi

Abstract

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Duraid al-Azdi is considered one of the prominent scholars devoted to the study of language. We do not intend to provide his biography here; for those interested in his biography, they can refer to biographical sources in biography books. What concerns us here is his remarkable work known as "al-Muqasorah al-Kubra," which Carl Brockelmann described as "The Great Compendium." Through this work, Ibn Duraid attempted to categorize the most common words into "mukhtasar" (abbreviated) and "mamdud" (extended). However, Ibn Duraid's creativity is not merely evident in listing the most common words but also in composing a balanced poem in the complete muqatta' (segmented) meter. Within this poem, he included those words, making them easy to memorize and correctly articulate. The poem consists of fifty-eight verses, each verse beginning with a "mukhtasar" word and ending with a "mamdud" word.